At Our Core
by Sookdeo
Summary: I don't believe in love. Or at least I think I don't. It's not something I'm cut out for. Besides it's nothing but a game. One that I'll learn to play well. And there's not a thing you can do to prove to me otherwise. Namine. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and Disney characters. AU Some OoC
1. This is Where it Starts

**My inspiration struck me at 12 in the morning while watching Being Erica. I just typed down what I felt. I wasn't sure where this fic was going, just that I like the idea of Namine being tough and fearless. It's completely OoC from most fanfics and the games. Let's see where it goes.**

**This chapter merely serves as preface to the actual story. The prologue is just to set the stage for the story.**

**Disclaimer: Everything I write is purely for fun. I do not own any of the Square Enix characters, Disney or Final Fantasy. I do, however, own a few characters that I've made up. No character is meant to mimic anyone in real life. Any such occurrence is merely a coincidence.**

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Prologue - This is Where it Starts

My mother was truly the most beautiful person I'd ever laid eyes on. With her thick, dark curly hair and deep chocolate-colored eyes. Not to mention she had a figure that any girl would kill for.

Her grandfather was from India; born and raised in Delhi. Both of his parents died from Tuberculosis when he was only fifteen. He and some of his friends made their way over to the West Indies in hopes of a better life. He later married Adhira, who truly lived up to her name which meant lightning. If Niḥśabda was the peace and tranquility of a crane, then Adhira was the destruction and foreboding figure of a wild bull. They met at a marketplace in Surname where Adhira was quarreling with a spice man over the price of curry powder. A few words from my great grandfather's mouth flowing like peaceful rivers and she was a goner. Smitten by his kind soul and persuasiveness, they married at 18 and moved to Guyana where my grandfather, Andrew, was born. There he grew up and follow his parent's suit in marrying at 18.

Andrew worked as a construction builder. He soon moved his wife, Alisha, and both of his parents to United States of America. It sounded as promising as ever with more people immigrating and job prospects popping up like daisies in the spring time. In three years time my mother was born. In Miami, Florida.

My mother was lucky enough to learn Hindi from her mother, Alisha, who believed culture was something important to hold on to and pass on to future generations. "After all sweetie, that is all we have." She held on to the teachings of Gandhi and Jesus like they were gold. For Diwali, the festival of lights, she would light candles through the entire house and for Easter she would throw holy water, from the Catholic Church, on us. I love my grandma but she's crazy.

With the arrival of my uncle and then aunt, my maternal family moved to New York. My grandpa had more family living up there and had a better job opportunity. He soon took over the construction business that he initially hired on to.

~0~0~

My paternal great grandparents were a respected noble family from Okinawa, Japan. My father's father belonged to the Japanese Marine Corps. He joined fresh out of high school, holding on to the hopes of becoming a doctor. He served for two years before he was stationed in Naha. By that time his parents had already arranged a marriage with a lovely, dainty girl named Ayame. She also came from a respectable family who owned more than half of the shipping ports in Japan. And with the Odayaka's financial status wavering, Daiki accepted the proposal. Wanting to have nothing but filial piety and not wanting to disappoint his parents, Ayame and Daiki wed within five months. Talk about a shot-gun wedding. Three years passed with an unfulfilling marriage and the pressure to produce a son for Ayame.

He was then stationed in Kyoto. There he met a French woman, Éclair Farron, who's Japanese was as bad as Daiki's French. Regardless of the language barrier they fell in love and had an affair. He knew about her loneliness and she knew about his wife. And like all things in life that happen unexpectedly, a son was born. They named him Iko for the hope and new life that he brought with his birth. He told his wife that he would be stationed in France for a little while, so he could sort things out with his now complete family.

When Daiki returned from his trip abroad he ended his sham of a marriage with Ayame. He was scorned not only by her, but by his parents. They disowned him for shaming the family name and cast him out. In the divorce Ayame took the house and more than half of his bank account, probably to ease the barrenness of her womb and emptiness of her own heart.

Daiki and Éclair worked as hard as they could to save up money. And yes, you are correct. They headed straight for America.

~0~0~

My mother met my father, Iko, in high school. Although my mother was a quiet and reserved person, Nilima Pyara was not one to be messed with. I recall her saying she once tried to fight a boy twice her size.

Their freshman year my dad spent irritating her. Hitting on her friends, leaving rubber chickens in her locker, taking her things when she wasn't looking. Their sophomore year was filled with mindless flirting (and not with each other); one hanging on the arm of some jock, the other making out with a girl behind the bleachers. Their junior year they finally got together. Everything was going well. They both had plans to attend NYU; my mom for nursing and my dad for business management. My mom was close to reaching her goal of valedictorian. My dad had just started an internship with a major company in the Bronx. They both had scholarships just lining up for them.

The summer before their senior year my mom found out she was pregnant with me. She was 18 when she had me. Actually not too far off from when my grandparents had her. But this was different. She _had_ her future all laid out for her. She had goals and plans for her life.

December 12th was her due date. But I was persistent to stay in her tummy as long as possible. I wasn't breached or anything. I just didn't think I was done cooking; I needed more time in the oven. My mom waited two and a half weeks and out I popped on the first of the New Year. Both of my grandparents were waiting for me as well as most of Mom and Dad's friends. But I think my mom was the most excited.

0.0

I've been told quite often that I favor my dad more. I have his almond-shaped eyes and golden locks. But I have my mother's brownish hazel eyes and charming smile. And my body has started telling me more and more that I'm definitely her daughter. It's getting harder to fit into my younger sister's clothes.

I love photography. I now have a (top of the line camera with the long lens). I would really like to pursue this, or as close to this as possible, as a career in the future. My mother would prefer I take up her profession as a nurse but that's just not me. Blood spills, cleaning bed pans, administering meds, and dealing with pompous doctors is not my cup of tea.

Speaking of which I love tea. I absolutely love it! I know I said that I don't believe in love but tea really makes me reconsider my stance. Matcha, pomegranate, peony, early grey - they're all delicious. And I'm indebted to them for clearing my mind when it's muddled and comforting me when I'm down.

I can speak both Hindi and Japanese. Not enough to live in those countries; just enough to get around. Every time I visit my dad's parents, I pick up a little more French. They were living in France after my sister, Yuffie, was born but they recently moved back. They live in a nice little château on the upper east side of Manhattan. The area is gorgeous and well-known to my frequent shopping trips. Riku usually accompanies me here. I sometimes have to force him to get a well needed haircut. (My God he was beginning to look like girl with his beautiful periwinkle tresses).

It has always started with one. Until another is thrown into the equation. Like with my great grandparents or my own parents. It's always been me, myself and I. And I really don't think anything else is for me.

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**Authors Note:** Yes I realize that all of the ancestors married at a very young age and had children young. I wasn't necessarily planning that but it happened. And it was actually very common 20, 30 years ago, especially arranged marriages. Society has broken down these fixtures, thank God, but they happened for a reason. A child was basically a women's joy. And a son was a guarantee to a man that his name would carry on. So the younger you are, the more kids you can have. And the wife and husband are happy with life. Although it is a bit different in the West Indian culture. While Asia holds deep pride in their children, West Indian parents are bit more laid back. I mean they are just as strict when it comes to getting good grades but it's not as harsh. And the majority care about all their kids equally.

I know this is a super long chapter with a longer genealogy than Genesis, but please bear with me lol. I needed to set the scene and all that good stuff. It's been at least 10 years since I've written on Fan Fiction (I recently deleted 2 stories that I wrote) and it's a process. But I **am** open to your ideas, suggestions, comments, concerns and anything else you want to throw my way. Reviews do help the author figure out how to better address the audience. So help me, help _you._

_Sook_


	2. Introductions May Be Needed

**AN: Well this will have a lot of inner monologuing; the entire story actually. Since it's in Namine's perspective I thought that would be best. (Similar to HG. Much of it was Katniss' inner thinking and her perspective.) It will give some background info on characters, events, and other things.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except the few I created, or songs used in this fic. Credit goes to Square Enix, Final Fantasy, and Disney. Enjoy!**

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**Chapter 1: Introductions May be Needed, But Please Don't judge**

It starts with one.

Laughing, crying, running, hiding, playing.

And then there are two.

Hugging, kissing, holding, loving.

It always seemed like a hassle to include anyone else. It was easier to keep up with just one. And I liked it this way. But it was inevitable; the gravity of each person's core will draw us all together. Because that's what it is, right? At the core we're all the same. Whether it's making a horrible decision like kissing our girlfriend's sister or unknowingly embarrassing our best friend. Making mistakes, making amends, breaking hearts, healing old scars, righting wrongs.

Sometimes we place ourselves on different levels than other people. What is the real distinction other than our own biased opinion of one another? We can easily say: You are not deserving. You are worthless.

This is how people turn on each other; how wars are started. It starts so simply: I am not you. I am nothing like you. So we choose not to empathize or put ourselves in another person's shoes.

And it is EACH time, a lie. Because underneath all the layers of fear and protection we are the same at our core. We have the same needs. We carry with us the same capacity for good and evil. We all are the **same**.

Even with all that said, I'd still rather be just one. Maybe then I wouldn't have to deal with the aforementioned wars and disputes. Although my core would eventually cry out for more than just the one I could offer.

Selfish, reluctant, daring, generous, witty, perseverant, compassionate, loyal. This is who I am.

At my core I am Namine Aadhya Odayaka.

~0~0~0~

_BGM: Falling in Love at a Coffee Shop – Landon Piggs_

"I have practice after school. I'll see you later, Mom."

"Ok Nams, have a great first day," she smiled and kissed my cheek. I raced down one flight of stairs and put on my favorite boots. Tan leather and already laced. My shoulder length ponytail flipped into my face as I slipped them on. I picked up my bags and I made my way down two sets of concrete stairs. I could see a black Jaguar approaching my house. Just then my phone whistled and I checked it. A text from the devil himself.

**Axel: Sweetness, we need a talk before you drop that scoop.**

"What happened now?" I grumbled until my breath.

**Me: It better be good.** I responded.

The passenger window rolled down as Riku said, "Stop talking to yourself."

"I am most certainly not. I'm just making an evaluation out loud so it will register better. It's perfectly normal."

I opened the door and slid into his Jaguar. Dropping my bags on the floor I quickly strapped myself in and smoothed out the skirt of my black dress.

"What were you 'evaluating' this time?"

"How sensual the interior of your car is," I quoted the description from the displays I'd read. We both laughed.

"So, are you ready for the first day back to school~?" he asked with fake enthusiasm as he batted his long lashes. Today he was sporting a canary yellow button up with the sleeves rolled up and a white under shirt. He had on a pair of white washed jeans and black and white checkered Vans.

"Yes actually. I have a good story for the school paper and I have my brand new camera to show off." I had been in photography since middle school. My mom even signed me up for whatever classes and programs were available on the subject. At first it was a hobby for me but it grew on me like gangrene on a dirty infection. This summer I finally saved up enough money to buy a camera on my own. The Canon EOS Rebel T5. As for the story I had for the school's newspaper, I needed Axel to pull through for me on this one.

"I've never seen you this excited to write a story for that dastardly paper so it must be good," Riku evaluated.

"It is!" I beamed and turned up his stereo. A funky guitar melody came on. I started snapping my fingers to the beat.

"Usually they post topics on students or makeup tutorials."

"At least they have a variety," I said. I got ready to belt out lyrics. "This one's for you Riku."

"_For once I can say this is mine you can't take it. As long as I know I have love I can make it. For once in my life I have someone who needs meeeee_." I sang the last note purposely off key.

"I think you should stick to your day job."

"Shut up," I lightly smacked his arm. "So what's going on with Rinoa?"

He paused for a moment. "Um, there's nothing going on."

I knew there was nothing exactly _going on_ with his latest interest, but my intuition was kicking in full speed.

"I heard you were at cheerleading camp a couple of times over this summer." Rinoa was the captain of the cheer team. I looked at him from the corner of my eye.

"Huh, well…." He got really quiet.

"You like her don't you," I spoke softly. I was a little taken aback. My inside sources never did lie and Riku never bothered to mention this to me. But it shocked me all the same. Now please don't get me wrong. We are not by definition dating, nor have we ever, actually.

_Riku was like the older brother I never had. He lived across the street in an apartment complex on the third floor. And I had a crush on him since I met him. When we were 14, I found out that our infatuation was mutual. I honestly want to think that he was my first, and probably only, love. _

_On the cusp of turning 15 and entering high school we finally _did the deed_. One of the acts that led to my current ideals of love and the like. All of the awkwardness aside I couldn't have picked a better person to lose my virginity to. We had sex in his room, surprisingly sans Ninja Turtle sheets, but he did have some transformers displayed which I thought were so cool. Skillfully planned all residents were out, while Riku was playing sick at home. His room that he shared with his brother was dimly lit with candles. Nutmeg and Spice No. 1 will always be a scent that brings me good memories. They were the tiny kind and it spread a soft, warm glow across the room. For a fifteen year old boy, he had the finesse of a 30 year old man. _

_It was a bit awkward and hurt like hell. By no means was it the fantasized and long awaited "love making" that our peers and society labeled it as. Getting passed the shaking hands, nervous glances, and numerous tries to "get it in", the deed was certainly done. By the end of it we were both laughing like hyenas and talking about classes for the next semester. Afterwards I looked down at his sheets: "Well you parted my Red Sea." The guy even made me waffles and hot chocolate afterwards. But even after that, we knew that we just weren't right for each other. And neither were relationships._

I never got that Eureka moment where I was just elated and overjoyed that I was with my "true love" and we lost our virginity to each other. I should have felt euphoric and relieved. And if it wasn't with Riku, who I'd known since I was 4, then it just wasn't possible for me.

He's still my best friend regardless of our past and I took it as a lesson learned. Last year, our sophomore year, his family moved about twenty minutes away, into a town house. His father was promoted to the office administrator to some congressman. It is a little harder to hang out with my best bud but we find ways to make it happen.

"I can't believe this. The school's playboy is narrowing his list down. I never thought I'd see the day."

"Namine," he flushed. "I…It's not really like that. I mean I don't _like_ her," he flustered a little. I'd never seen Riku stumbled over his words. "It's just-" I cut him off.

"I'm not making fun of you Ri." I turned to look at him. "If you actually feel something for her then go for it. I'll be behind you all the way." Just because I didn't feel the same about the concept of love didn't mean that I should deter my best friend from it.

He breathed out a small sigh of relief that I didn't realize he was holding in. "Thanks."

"Oh nīchan," I hugged his arm. A nice silence passed over us. "Just promise that I can be your maid of honor." He chuckled.

"Hah, I got a rise outta that one," I lightly pinched his cheek.

"I just…I'm not sure how to go about this."

"Oooh she must be special then. I'll help. You don't even have to ask."

We were approaching the school's parking lot.

"To be honest," he pulled into his parking spot, "your schemes are not the best idea, Nam." He was right; and they were by no means the safest: Having a band play from a rooftop, a flash mob in the middle of a busy street, almost setting a store on fire. Although that last one has Axel written all over it.

"We can reconvene after school. Pizza shop down the street." I started picking up my bags.

"I have basketball practice."

"And I have volleyball." I saw my youngest sister walking towards the break area. "You can drive me and Kairi home afterwards."

"What-"

But I had already left his car and ran over to greet my sister. She was wearing white jean shorts and a salmon crop tank. "Hey Kai! Ready to face the worst day of your life?" Her face fell. "Now remember it's only for four years of your life that you'll never get back. And it'll be filled with kids you hate and teachers who want to see you fail."

"This is the worst pep talk ever," Kairi said.

I swung my arm over her shoulder and steered her to the cafeteria doors. "And it's only the beginning."

It was the beginning for both of us. It was only 7:40 am.

~0~0~0~

_BGM: Gotta Be You – 2NE1_

I was part of the Leadership Program at our school, responsible for helping new students e.i. transfers and foreign exchange adjust to Yonkers High School, giving tours to parents, and basically telling rich donator why they should shower us with money. This month's task was helping the Freshmen adjust and showing them around. I had a list of ten kids assigned to my group:

Nashmeira Alzadaal

Isa Iwo

Harlan Mahoe

Ventus Gainsborough-Fair

Simba Mensah

Kairi Odayaka

Louis Segall

Midras Tacand

Shiki Tanaka

Leila Trepe

I decided to have them meet me in front of the administration office.

"Hey everyone. My name is Namine and I'll show you what's up at Yonkers High."

I took a quick survey of the group. For extra measure I added, "For future reference please keep all heinous comments to yourself. Anything else I **can** answer for you." I would not put myself in awkward situations with embarrassing questions.

"We'll start with the main office." There wasn't anything really cool in there. "All the normal stuff like student records, transfer files, the computer mainframe, the teacher mail room, and the principal's office is in there. Hopefully you won't ever have to go into the last one."

Turning my back to them I started to walk to the computer labs. I was hoping that my favorite teacher would be in. I approached the main lab and I stuck my head through the door.

"Hey Namine, what can I help you with?" Mr. Bradley walked into my line of vision.

"Alan," I smiled. "I'm giving some Freshmen a tour and I wanted to show them the coolest teacher."

"Stop trying to butter me up," he chuckled.

I ushered everyone into the room. "This is Alan Bradley our computer teacher and main IT person for Yonkers High. He teaches basic computer classes like business tech essentials and typing but he also teaches troubleshooting, structured cabling and some other classes at the trade school."

"Hey newbies. You can just call me Tron." He smiled.

"Why do you call yourself Tron?" someone with sandy blonde hair asked.

"Cause I'm just so damn good with technology."

"Way to be modest," I said under my breath. "Could you explain a little of what you do?"

"Well I basically keep the school running in one piece." Some of the group chuckled. "I troubleshoot all technical problems, from someone's internet going down to getting no dial tone on a phone, I do it all. Sometimes I rewire the school's mainframe. I also maintain security for the school and help implement new devices. This past year we got a shipment of iPads for all the grades. It's a nice upgrade from the Mac books."

"It's kind of inconvenient though. What about keypads?"

"We have attachable keyboards now."

"Did you always want to work in a high school?" A girl I believed to be Shiki asked.

He went on talk about where he started working before this; For my father. They initially met in high school and were best friends ever since. When they were older and working in different business firms, Dad decided to leave his company in the Bronx to start his own in Manhattan. Alan was the man who helped him build it up. All the IT related things as well as some technical business aspects were taken care of by him. Dad now owns a management and strategy consulting business. After some time, Alan became exhausted by the grueling, tedious workload and settled on something less daunting. This is why he is working at our high school now.

My family had known Alan for a very long time. Even through the divorce, he stayed true and kind to all of us. It wasn't exactly a pretty break up for Nilima and Daiki, and Alan helped us through the worst of it.

"Anymore questions?"

"Nope. Thanks Tron." I said smiling.

"Anytime kiddo."

With that we left the computer lab and headed on to the library. Looking through the windows that wrapped around the room we saw an English man with chestnut hair berating someone for misplacing a book. "You must follow the Dewey Decimal System! It is not put there simply for looks!"

"Um we'll skip this one," I said quickening my pace and hoping the others would take the hint. I turned around and walked backwards to address them. "That was the library. The irate man yelling was the librarian Mr. Leavins. He's normally not like that…" I paused. "Well actually sometimes he is. He just really cherishes literature. And is a bit meticulous and uptight when it comes to organization. So for future reference, don't ever bring up 'a better way' to organize the books or newspapers…and don't mention Cornwallis."

Someone in the back raised their hand.

"Don't ask about that one." Turning around again, I continued the tour. I showed them the band room, the art studio, the language halls, the gym, the workshops, and the history wing. I tried to keep it as short as possible. My phone read **8:05 am**. I was pushing it time wise, but there was one more place I wanted to go.

"Ok the tour is almost done. I have one last thing to show you. Actually the most important thing."

0.0

I opened the doors to one of my favorite places. The scent of waffles and syrup assaulted my nose. Breakfast must have just finished. I could just feel my taste buds salivating. The cafeteria.

"Please follow me in single file. We don't want to mess up the floors too much." It seemed like the janitors had mopped not too long ago. I also didn't want anyone tripping and falling.

"Why did you bring us to the cafeteria, Namine?" A girl named Leila asked.

"For treats of course! You guys were one of the best groups I've ever given a tour to. So this is my reward for your patience and cooperation." And I needed some sugar.

"Jacques?" I called out.

"Oui!" I heard a man answer from the back. He strode out tall, confident, and stirring a batter of some sort.

"Ah, Namine how are you?" Jacques said with a heavy French accent.

"I'm great, thank you. I was wondering…" I started to say. I was trying to get a better glimpse of the batter. My eyes flickered up to his and I flashed a smile.

"Ohohohoh oui, mon cherie. Oui. Let us see. There are une, deux, trios…onze of you. One moment. You all may follow if you like."

We followed Jacques further into the kitchen and towards the stoves. He stopped at a flat top stove like the ones they have in Waffle House. Jacques turned to address the small group.

"You with the blue hair."

"Me?" Isa pointed to himself.

"Oui. Please wash your hands and proceed to wash those strawberries. Then, will Kairi please help him cut them?"

She replied with a quiet 'yes.'

"Ventus, please make the topping. Namine will show you."

I grabbed Ventus' arm and led him to one of the industrial fridges away from the group. "So how do you know Jacques, mister?"

"I'm training to be a chef."

"That doesn't really answer my question."

He grabbed two small cartons of heavy cream. "I have connections."

I rolled my eyes. "Your dad knows him doesn't he?"

"Nope. I actually met him at the super market."

"And so now you're his apprentice?"

"Yeah."

"I can't wait to taste everything you can cook." I could feel my mouth watering at the thoughts of juicy steaks and paella.

"Is all you think about food?"

"No, I also think about chocolate."

"That **is** food."

"No it's pure heaven in a bar. Two completely different things Ven. Keep up."

We walked back into the main kitchen and I grabbed a metal bowl. There were strawberries and blueberries already cleaned and drying on dish towels. Simba handed me a whisk and a bag of confectioners' sugar.

There was sugar smeared on his cheek and coating the top of his shirt. "Hey, Simba you got a little something on your face."

"Oh, I thought no one noticed." He proceeded to lick it off.

I laughed, "Ok."

As I poured the heavy cream into the bowl, Ventus whisked with the skill of a sous-chef. I slowly began to pour a bit of the sugar in. In no time we had whipped cream. My mouth started watering.

When we finished wisking, Jacques had finished the crepes. Each of us had a paper plate and fork awaiting the hot treats. The Freshmen lined up to adorn their delicacy with sweets. These were the best crepes I've ever tasted.

"Hey didn't you already eat breakfast?" Kairi asked.

I paused with a forkful near my mouth. "And you're point is…."

"I don't understand where you put it all."

"She's gonna get as big as a house," Isa commented.

After chewing I said, "Pssh, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter." I checked my phone for the time: **8:20 am**. Homeroom would start at 8:35.

"Alright time to wrap it up people. I need to get you to homeroom." I didn't really have to, but I wanted to. It also gave me an excuse to miss some of homeroom.

0.0

Kairi was the last student I walked to class. "You know, you're pretty cool. I can't believe you got a cook to make us breakfast." She smiled at me.

"I know. Aren't you glad that I'm your sister?" We laughed. "So let's take another look at your schedule. Homeroom with Ursula, don't ask about her hair. Home Ec with Skellington, oh he's cool. Then Earth Science with Ursula, again...Geometry with Bagheera. He's from Sri Lanka but he went to school in London. His accent may be a little hard to understand at times, but don't be afraid to ask him to repeat anything. He's a very patient teacher. And feel free to ask him for snacks after class. He usually keeps gelabi or toffee in his desk. Gym. Master Eraqus is very disciplined but he's not strict. Do you have clothes to change into?" She nodded her head. "Just don't be late for his class." I handed her schedule back.

"Well I think that's it." We stopped in front of Ursula's room.

"Thanks Nams."

"Anything for my baby sister." I kissed her cheek. "I'll see you at lunch, kay?"

"Alright." She turned and walked into the classroom. My phone whistled. "Oh shoot, I thought I put that on silent."

**Riku: chick where are you? It's 8:40**

**Me: keep your pants on. I'll be there.**

I walked to our homeroom, enjoying the silence throughout the halls. When I arrived at Mr. Cogsworth's classroom, I just stood against the wall. The bell for our first class rang and out of every door students fled. It was actually an interesting sight to see. Something so quiet and still suddenly interrupted by an alarm. It was like watching little ants flee from a fire in their nest.

I grabbed the edge of Riku's yellow shirt as he walked out the door. "Come on lover boy."

"Excited to see me?"

"No, just excited to find out where all the vital body parts are," I smiled.

0.0

I'm not going to lie. Even after two years of coming to this school, Hook still scares me a little. But he's teaching one of my favorite classes, so I think I can over look that. Coming in at 6'2 and 190 pounds Claudio Acosta is our beloved human anatomy teacher. He also serves lunch on occasion. All the kids just call him Hook because well, he's missing his left hand. And he wears a nice shiny hook as a replacement for the appendage. Every time someone asks how he lost it, he changes the story.

"_I got it stuck during a plumbing issue. They had to saw my arm off along with the pipe." _

"_My arm got caught in a factory machine at a pillow manufacturing company."_

"_I was having a picnic with a loved one. She didn't like my joke. The next thing I knew, she took out a cleaver and chopped my arm clean off."_

But I know what really happened. During his college years he went on a safari trip in Australia and got a little too close to an alligator.

I picked a seat in the middle of the class with Riku in tow. I plopped down on the stool when Riku said, "Why here?"

"It's the best view of all the other suckers. Aaaaand I like being the center of attention." I propped my elbow up on the black top counter.

"You think the teacher is hot," Riku deadpanned.

"That too." I turned to look at him. "Now don't be jealous. You know you're the only fish in my sea."

Riku rolled his eyes and took out a notebook. "You girls and your hormones."

I followed suit and pulled out a pen. "So what are your aspirations for this class?"

"I'd really like to know if there's more than one way to skin a cat."

"Well you'll learn soon enough, Riku," a velvety soft and slightly accented voice entered the room.

"Good morning class. I'm Mr. Acosta and I'll be your anatomy teacher for the rest of the semester." Mr. Acosta did only have one hand but damn was he fine as _hell_. Today his luscious raven curls were tied in a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His white shirt was undone a bit at the top. And his black slacks did well to accentuate his long legs and butt. Riku was right. _This_ is why I chose to sit in the middle of the classroom. I had a better vantage point.

0.0

The rest of the class went on without any event. Just girls swooning over our teacher. Some even sneaked in their phone to get a few pictures of him. Our school had a no cell phone policy but I guess it was worth the risk.

The bell rang for our second class. The class practically rushed out the doors. "Here is where we part Golden Child," Riku said.

"I'll see you at lunch, hun."

I turned to walk a far stretch to my locker. I picked up my bag that contained a change of clothes. No one knew I was taking this class but the students in there and I was hoping to keep it that way. I walked outside to the trade school buses. Only this one was going to a different location.

"Hello, Namine. How was your summer?" Ms. Fa asked once I seated myself.

"It was great actually. Even though I worked most of it."

We chatted for the rest of the ride. Things were going great with her hunk of a boyfriend, Shang. I could definitely hear wedding bells in their future.

When we got to our destination everyone, about twenty kids, filed out of the bus and into a decent sized building. Wlaking passed the reception area Ms. Fa chose the third room on the left and walked in. Once everyone changed their clothes and stretched she began.

"Good morning class. My name is Ms. Fa Mulan and I'll be you instructor," she bowed to us. "For those who already know me, I hope you all have been practicing over the summer." She walked over to a stereo and grabbed a remote. Hitting the play button she turned back to us with a smile and said, "And for the rest of you, try to keep up."

_You say it's all in my head. And the things I think just don't make sense_

I'll never tell this to anyone, but I secretly love to dance. And not your typical ballerina, classical type of dancing. From crumping and African styles to the cookie cutter pop moves and hip-hop. I'm nothing special though. It's just something I like doing in my spare time. This was just a great opportunity for me to advance my budding abilities to show off at parties. And I really love Mulan Fa. She is a great teacher. I was also hoping to pitch her class idea: Capoeira.

Last year we had started with contemporary and began to dabble a bit in hip hop. Contemporary was a nice beginning for me. It's as smooth as a flowing river and swift as the wind. But you also have to be able to stop mid move sometimes. It demonstrates a lot of control.

She started with a slow choreo to get our blood pumping.

_I'm starting to find myself feeling that way too_

_When you grace me with your cold shoulder_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

_You shower me with words made of knives_

_Whenever you look at me I wish I was her_

The song played on repeat about three times before the newcomers got the hang of the freestyle routine. Ms. Fa finally hit the stop button. I caught my breath. _I need to work out a bit more._

"That was a great warm-up," at that some of the class groaned. She was a lithe petite thing. Only five feet with her shoulder length black hair. Today she was wearing blue capri tights and a yellow shirt with a red vest. She always dressed dance ready.

"Take a quick water break and stretch if you need to," she advised us.

We spent the rest of the class learning some basic moves. A delicate arm swoop, extending our bodies without falling or losing balance. Our homework was to practice a barrel roll.

By the time we got back on the bus we were exhausted. I was glad I had yoga for my next class. Master Eraqus had a nice calm demeanor. Well at least in that class.

Practically running off the bus I headed towards the classroom. I really didn't want to change out of my comfortable black capris. Oh well, everyone would just have to deal with my funk for an hour.

Master Eraqus' hair always astonished me. How did he get it like that? Did he use any gel? Did he stick his hand in a socket? But I dare not ask these questions to his face.

"Namaste, Odayaka."

"Namaste Sifu," I bowed lightly.

"You just came from Ms. Fa's class."

"How did you know that?"

"A teacher notices many things if he is observant." He was weirdly perceptive and intuitive.

I lifted an eyebrow and said, "Ok."

Walking to the back of the class I rolled out my yoga mat. Luckily I wasn't late and I had my pick of spots. Master Eraqus was all about things being done in a timely and orderly matter.

"Hey Nami!" someone said to my left. I turned and saw one of my inside sources.

"Selphie, darling how are you?"

She was wearing a pair of yellow Lulu Lemon pants and a white crop top. Selphie was known as the school Gossip although she did contribute many a stories to the schools paper (Yonkers Times). Makeup tutorials were her specialty. But the little bits of gossip she dropped were like setting off an atomic bomb. It caused more rumors to pop up and in turn increase the newspaper demands. (It only cost $1 to read the paper, but sales were usually through the roof) The chaos that ensues is immeasurable but amazing. I know that sounds a bit morbid but that's just how I view it. It's like watching a masterpiece unfolding.

"Oh you know, same old thing." She laid down her bright yellow mat next to my black one. We sat down and did a couple of stretches to warm up. I sent Kairi a quick text asking her to get my lunch from my locker and to meet me outside the girl's locker room before lunch.

"I've been trying to think of some new things to put in the paper, but I'm not getting anything," she broke the silence.

"Maybe we can do a poll or something to see what the readers would like."

"That's actually a great idea!" her face lit up. "So how was your summer?"

"Sort of uneventful. I worked so many hours at the pizza shop."

"I thought you were working at that spa in Bedford."

"I work there too," I replied.

"Wow you _were_ really busy." I nodded. If there was one good thing I took from my father it was his work ethic. I didn't really need to work. My mother was a PRN, my father worked in a lucrative business, and both of my grandparents were well off. But in return for working, I learned how to make a slammin New York pizza and learned how to deal with idiots- I mean people.

"You know me. Namine the Workaholic."

"I also saw you partying it up a lot."

"You know… all work and no play." We laughed.

Class consisted of free poses, warrior stretches, downwards dogs, lunges, and cobra rises. This was exactly what I needed after dance, to stretch out my sore muscles. Master Eraqus let us out ten minutes earlier than the bell and I headed to the gym showers with Selphie. Thank God we have separate stalls. I was all about privacy and couldn't fathom showering in a huge open space with other girls. I was talking to Selphie through the curtain. I tied my hair into a bun and quickly rinsed the sweat off my skin.

"So you and Riku, huh?" She asked.

"Oh no, not you too." Of all the people I would've thought Selphie knew better.

"So you're not a thing?"

"No."

"Well it sure seems like it. You're always all over each other."

"I promise that we're just good friends."

There was a short silence. "Well I definitely believe you, but I don't think anyone else thinks so."

"Eh whatever. I don't really care what anyone else thinks."

"You care what I think?" she asked. "Awww I'm important to you~" Selphie gushed.

"Ugh, you're such a girl," I replied.

0.0

After my shower I quickly dried off and got dressed. Kairi was waiting for me outside.

"Hi sweetness," I greeted her but she completely bypassed me.

"Selphie!"

"Kairi!"

They hugged.

If I could, I would've sweat dropped right then. "Ok I'll leave you two lovebirds alone. But I'll take this, thank you." I took my lunch bag from Kairi.

They walked arm in arm with me to the cafeteria, chatting about who knows what. I'm glad the gym and cafeteria were on the same floor. It could get pretty wild in the café. Hungry teenagers are **not** a pretty sight. It was a jungle. I spotted a silver head in the sea of other students.

Grabbing his arm I asked, "Did you pack your lunch today?"

"No. Why don't you grab us some seats and I'll meet you there."

"Ok," I released him. With Kairi and Selphie in tow, I chose a table close to the windows. Today was exceptionally nice and the scene outside was pretty. Hayner and Olette were already sitting there.

"Hey you guys," I greeted them while taking a seat.

"Hello Namine, Selphie…and who is this?" Olette asked with a smile.

"My sister Kairi. Kairi this is Hayner and Olette," I introduced them. Kairi sat on my left while Selphie took a seat next to her.

"Do you play Halo?" Hayner asked.

"Yeah I do!" Kairi exclaimed.

They started to talk about first person shooting, and better graphics or something. They were in their own world now. Trust Hayner to meet someone for the first time and ask them if they played a video game. I guess that was his icebreaker.

I began to open my lunch bag and place small containers on the table. I placed a paper plate in front of Kairi and myself and spooned food onto them.

Kairi turned from her conversation and asked, "Did Mom make this?"

"Yes, she did," I smiled. Nothing made me happier than Mom's cooking.

"You and your weird food," Hayner said.

"Ain't nobody ask for your comment. Just be sad and eat your hamburger or whatever that is," I retorted. I was having curry and roti. Mom made potato, pumpkin, spinach and some rice to go with it. Eating with your hands is the best. It just makes the food taste better.

"Oh is that the seven curry you were talking about?" Olette asked.

"Yes." I stopped a minute to pray over my food before stuffing my face. Just then Riku sat down with his tray.

"Whas thaf," I said with a mouthful.

"Ew Namine. That's not very ladylike," Selphie said.

Riku chuckled. "Beef stroganoff and some applesauce." He was used to my borderline disgusting eating habits. I'm not the cookie cutter princess that most people see on their first glimpse of me. I eat like a pig. Shoveling food into my mouth, burping, slurping. Eating with me is not for the weak of heart.

"Woosh goo," I told him.

A few minutes later Yuffie and Sora joined us. "Aww man. Mom packed you lunch!" Yuffie said.

"Want some?" I offered her some roti with chana. She chomped down and almost took my hand with her. "If you were here this morning you would've had some too~"

I looked around at everyone's plates. "Why does everyone have beef stroganoff?"

Just then Isa, Axel, Harlan, and Nala sat down with us. I looked on their plates to see the same thing.

"Brian is making escargot," Axel provided. I cringed. "He's 'trying something new.' "

"The kitchen must be in an uproar," I said. Jacques and Brian were always arguing over what to serve for lunch. Some days it was great and other days I was glad I packed my lunch. I took out some wet wipes from a pocket in my lunch bag. "So much for my manicure," I observed my hand. The once white French tips were now a light shade of yellow. Curry tastes great but it stained everything it touched.

"We can get our nails done this weekend," Selphie said.

"My treat?"

"Yes." She winked knowingly.

"Or do you mean _my_ treat," another voice said. Vanitas sat down directly in front of me.

_Vanitas has been the heart throb of all the girls since he hit puberty in 7__th__ grade. He seems like the silent brooding type because he is a recluse. And because he was my neighbor, I am constantly bombarded with an onslaught of questions from girls who wanted in on his good graces. "Does he like girls with long or short hair?" "What does he look for in a relationship?" "What's his favorite food?" "How does he take his coffee?"_

_This type of work doesn't come without a price. Needless to say I get many freebies in exchange for this information. Trips to spas, shopping sprees to the SoHo district, great vacations to Cabo and Miami, VIP exclusive to every club known to man. What? I'm not a sell-out. Momma needs to take care of herself too._

Those girls were complete Losers. Vanitas was about dateable as I was. Neither of us was into labels or long term relationships. Or relationships in general. They were just wasting their time. But I wasn't going to tell them otherwise.

"I see you settled for the snails," I changed the subject.

"And chocolate cake," he said.

Vanitas knew that I had something to do with the copious amount of coffee he received each morning and the "surprises" on his car and in his locker. But he never said anything really.

"Your mom made curry."

"How can you tell?" I had already packed my lunch bag up.

"Besides the satisfied look on your face? Your hands smell like it." Vanitas was very observant. He was also pretty much destitute in the emotion department, but I could see a hint of a smile on his face.

Everyone was finishing their beef stroganoff with comfortable conversation. Axel asked Little Red, Kairi, and Isa how their first days were going so far.

"What?" Vanitas asked. I had been staring at his plate for the past five minutes.

"Hmm. Can I try one of those snails?"

"And if I say no?"

"I'll take one anyways."

He sighed and picked up one with his fork. Before he could protest I plucked it from the utensil and sucked the snail out of its shell.

"It's pretty good. A little bit too salty though."

"Sometimes I think you should've been born a boy," Axel said.

"But then I wouldn't be able to wear these pretty dresses." I pointed to my black dress with little flowers on it.

"Sometimes I wish I was born a girl," Hayner said suddenly. Everyone stopped and stared at him.

He held up his hands. "Not in a weird way. I mean you get to wear dresses! They're like kilts. A lot of breathing room."

"Yeah, ok dude," Isa supplied.

What the hell….Sometimes I seriously question the things that come out of this kid's mouth.

Just then the bell rang ending Hayner's embarrassment and our hour and a half of food. I had Statistics with Mr. Bagheera next.

"Come on Riku. Time to learn about those curves and slopes. And I don't mean mine." I retracted a moment. Huh, maybe Selphie was right about our relationship.

Riku gave me a 'people are going to get the wrong idea' look as he arched his left eyebrow.

I would definitely need to tone it down. Especially since Mr. Man was trying to get into the good graces of Rinoa. I needed to make sure Kairi was ok though.

Yuffie and Isa were already by her side. "We'll take it from here," Yuffie said and linked arms with Kairi.

"Ok. I'll see you two at practice then." Kairi decided to try out for the volleyball team later. It would be an interesting practice to say the least.

~0~0~

Riku and I walked to the second floor to retrieve our books from our lockers. I put my lunch bag in to take out my camera bag and book bag.

"Time to learn about the infinities presented in the graphs," Riku said in a British accent. I chuckled.

Making it to the class with a few minutes to spare I did a once over of the room. If I sit too far back I won't be able to see the board. If I sit in the middle I have to worry about tall people obstructing my view. I chose a seat in the second row towards the door. Still in the front but I had a nice vantage point.

Statistics pertains to the collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of data. Although if you were to say that to me I'd say 'what' about five times and you'd get frustrated. I absolutely **hated** math, but I liked learning it and loved the teacher even more.

We did some basic graphing of normal planes. I welcomed the warm-up.

It was 2:40 pm and Mr. Bagheera let some of the students go. At our last period, teachers were allowed to release students who had extra-curricular activities after school. Luckily Riku and I were some of those students. Before leaving we chatted up Mr. Bagheera.

"So were you able to visit your parents this summer?" I asked, perched on the edge of his desk.

"Yes and they're doing great. Mamaji started singing again and Babuji is diligently working on his garden." He was always happy to talk about his family. Earlier last year, Mr. Bagheera had to take a short leave of absence to care for his father. It was good to know that he was doing well.

"Sounds like he has a great work ethic," Riku added.

"Oh yes. From a small boy he has been that way." He smiled. "And I hope to see the same in your work this year, Riku. I know you can achieve the highest marks."

"I don't know if I have that potential," Riku said trying to be modest.

"Riku is much smarter than he lets on," I agreed with Mr. Baheera. And it's not only because his father pushes him. They are second generation Japanese immigrants. His grandparents left when times were getting difficult. They didn't have a hard life or anything. Everyday life was just getting a bit dangerous to raise a family. His grandfather was running a large cooperation in Tokyo which he brought over to the States. His father was working for a high ranking government official. So Riku was just determined to do his best.

"I'll see you two tomorrow," Mr. Bagheera smiled.

"Bye."

Once we exited the room I turned to Riku. "We're still meeting after practice," I pointed at him. We walked to the gym together. This time we took the elevator. Only a select few students were allowed passes on here. So we tried to be as discreet as possible.

"Yes, dear I know," he said. He flashed his ID card up to the elevator scanner.

"Well don't sound so happy."

He gave me a pointed look. "I just don't want to mess things up." We stepped onto the elevator and it took us down.

"Riku I'd never steer you wrong. Just don't leave me stranded here."

We walked into the gym. He cracked a small smile. "Wouldn't dream of it. See ya." He walked off to the opposite side of the gym where some guys on the basketball team were doing layups. I wondered how the practice would go if we were sharing the space. The basketball team usually practiced outside. I shrugged and walked into the locker rooms. I like playing volleyball. I'm not amazing at it, but I enjoy it and make an excellent blocker. The coach says that I distract all the girls on the opposing team to no end and I make them cry. Hey, whatever keeps them from hitting the ball.

After changing I made my way to bench to put on my knee pads and sneakers.

"Cute shorts babe." I turned towards the male voice.

"Axel you know you can't be in here," I reprimanded him. I'm glad I changed in one of the bathroom stalls.

"Like that'll stop me."

I shook my head. "What's going on with my story?"

"There's a problem," he walked over to the bench and straddled it. "They're cutting the funds for the art program."

I pulled on both knee pads. "Does that affect the story?"

"Well the school does contribute a ton of dough to them."

"That means that they're nixing the program all together?" The art program at the local library was open to everyone. And the best part about it was that it was free. Kids and adults of all ages could participate in the fun activities that were sponsored by them. The library usually received many donations in art supplies so money was never really an issue.

He nodded, "That's not all. It's going to affect Yonkers High too."

My eyes widened. I knew that we weren't the richest school in Westchester County, but we weren't by definition poor.

He continued. "Music, art, dance-"

"What?" Those were some of my favorite classes. "They can't do that!"

"Well unless we find funding I don't see how they can keep these programs up. I'm just as upset as you," he said.

I started putting on my sneakers. After a moment of silence I spoke. "Can we do something about that?" I was determined to keep these classes where they were. But maybe I could get my story out of it too.

"We could start with raising awareness about it. Then find some way to raise money."

"Get some funding from rich investors," I suggested.

"It's getting them _interested_ in funding us," he scoffed.

"I'm sure we'll think of something," I smiled. I finished lacing my shoes and stood up.

"Go forth and rally the troops!" he stood up and exclaimed.

"Tally ho general!" I responded.

Laughing Axel said, "See ya around kiddo." He ruffled my hair and walked out the back door.

With my camera bag in hand I walked back into the gym. A few members of my volleyball team and some newcomers had already started to practice. There were about twenty faces that I didn't recognize. Taking out my camera I attached the lens to snag some photos. It would be great for yearbook and the newspaper. I wasn't _exactly_ on the yearbook committee, but Pence could always use help. And it was always good to have a happy inside source.

After getting some nice shots, I dismantled the camera and put it into its bag. The coach, Tifa Pyara, walked in.

"Welcome girls." She was wearing a blue t-shirt and black volleyball shorts. "I recognize some of your lovely faces. Some from the current teams we have and some from the practice over the summer. Let me just say that that was just a warm-up. Welcome to the real tryouts," she smiled.

"Let's start with passing the ball around." She divided us into four groups. There was someone from varsity in each group. I was here, as was Yuffie, Jasmine, and Clara. Lucky dogs we were. She had called us last night to ask if we could help with tryouts. I was beginning to regret my decision. While Yuffie was a patient teacher, Jasmine was more…outspoken and short tempered. And I was afraid what would happen if another girl dropped the ball. I could practically see a vein pulsing in her forehead. This was going to be a long afternoon.

0.0

Tryouts started at 3 and didn't end until 4:30. "Thanks for your hard work," Tifa said as we were packing up in the locker room. "I'll have a list posted by tomorrow." We all sighed in relief as she left the room. I walked with Kairi out to the gym.

"So was your first day what you expected it to be?"

"It was nothing special. I definitely didn't expect to get homework though." Her dark blue eyes looked up to me. While Yuffie and I had our mother's brown eyes, Kairi had a strange array of blue and purple in her eyes. I really don't know where she got this trait from but was gorgeous. Still as a pond and dark like the cosmos at night.

"Ursula really creeps me out though." She shivered. "She's definitely off her rocker and the workload is unbelievable."

"Well there's nothing I can do about that one. You'll have her for every science class." I would have her for marine biology next year. I spotted Riku talking to Sora. We walked over there.

"…she would kill me with a harpoon and then display my body to others as a warning," I caught Sora's end of the conversation.

"That sounds brutal," I commented.

"We'll talk later," Riku told him.

"Later man." He started to leave

"See ya, Sora," Kairi waved.

"Bye Kairi…N-Namine," he faltered as he said my name.

"Ready to go?" I grabbed Riku's arm.

"You're gonna break my arm off one of these days."

"I'll just sew it back on."

"Wait for me!" Yuffie cried from behind us.

~0~0~

After we dropped my sisters off at our house, Riku parked on the hill and walked with me to the pizza shop.

"Isn't it kind of taboo to frequent the place of your business?" he asked.

"Not when they make pizza that tastes like this." I bit into a slice and savored the cheesy goodness. "Let's get down to business." _To defeat the Huns. Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons? You're the saddest bunch I've ever met and-_

"Namine stop singing in your head," Riku interrupted me.

"Oh sorry," I laughed. "How do you want approach this? How about stealthy? We can check out her favorite spots, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram-"

"We're not stalking her."

"So I can get in with her besties and-"

"That's too obvious."

"I can get Pence to tail her so-"

"That's just creepy Namine."

"Well dang. I don't know what else to suggest then." _You've already shot down some of my best plans you booger_. I frowned at him and took another bite of my pizza. "You got any better ideas?"

"Why don't I just talk to her?" he said.

"You haven't spoken to her? What were you doing at her cheerleading camp then?"

"I was there for the crowd."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Well let's start there. You can talk to her but don't evaluate her. I don't think she's one of your toys," he gave me a funny look in between bites of his calzone. "If you're sincere about this, be sincere. Don't play it like a game. What does she like? Why does she like it? What does she want to do in the future? Take an interest in who she is as a _person_. Not a girl or a thing with a skirt. A living breathing human being." When I finished Riku looked at me a little awestruck.

"Where did all that come from Namine?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I just figured that's what a girl like her wants. She seems to have her head on straight and is a no nonsense person. She's a lot like you, actually."

"Have _you_ been stalking her?" he said.

"No, you butthead. I'm just observant." This was only the beginning. Our conquests were usually met with a straightforward approach. Narrow down what we're looking for, find a target, assess their traits, and go in for the kill. Ok, well it was straightforward for _us_ I mean. This whole 'getting to know you' process was a bit strange.

As kids we'd done everything together. So this was no different. We were going to do this together. Even if it was a foreign concept. But Riku seemed all in, so I guess I'd have to be too.

0.0

After eating, Riku walked me home and spoke with my mom in our living room for a bit. I went down to the first floor to start on my homework.

Listing the body's organ systems and the main functions: Done

Draw two graphs. First, on our level of serotonin before and after summer break. Second, on our GPAs from last year compared to our expectations for this year: Done

This was the easy part of the year. The students were feeling out their classes and the teachers were waiting for the right moment to drop that bomb on us. I'd be ready though. I stood up from the carpet to stretch.

The first floor of our house was small and simple. As soon as you opened the front door there was a staircase to the left leading up to the second floor. Right underneath that was a door that led to the laundry room in the basement. In the center was a fireplace that we rarely used. To the right was a little apartment that Yuffie and I shared. Once you opened the white French doors there was a living area with a TV in the far right corner. A wine red cushion set bordered the carpet with a cherry oak table in the center. There were five windows around that let enough light in. I shared a room with my sister towards the back and there was a bathroom connected to it. Going passed that, there was a small kitchen with a stove and fridge as well as some cabinets. The room behind that was one we used to store random things. There was a door towards the very back of that room. We sometimes snuck out through there.

I was currently in the living room on the gold and red carpet. Now was a good time as ever to do some yoga stretches. I didn't get a chance to change out of my practice clothes either so my shorts would be riding up my butt in no time. I started with my deep breathing, moving to the waning moon, then settling on the warrior. On my second leg, something tapped my shoulder.

"I'm gonna get going," Riku said.

I straightened up and hugged him. "See ya tomorrow."

"Bye Namine."

After he left I ran into my room and dived onto my bed. It was covered with a deep purple and blue galaxy comforter. I pulled a black and white pillow over my face. I looked over to Yuffie's side of the room.

She was donning her Gatsby paraphernalia. A lamp with gold tassels sat on her black night stand, her red and gold comforter had a unique shine to it, and a poster saying 'I Party with Jay Gatsby' was on her wall. We both went through a little 1920s phase when we read The Great Gatsby. She just never grew out of it.

The scheme for our room was chosen at random. The wall which was the entrance to our room was a metallic black. The wall to our closet was a dark blue. And the walls facing the bathroom and windows were a striking white with a gold design on it.

"Finished your homework?" Yuffie asked.

"Yeah, you?" I removed the pillow to speak.

"Nope." I gave her a look.

"You're not going to, are you?"

"Correctamundo."

"It's a wonder you passed your freshman year."

"I know right!" she laughed.

I made my way into the bathroom with clean clothes and showered quickly. Making my way back into our room I changed into shorts and an old t-shirt. My phone whistled.

**Mom: time for dinner**

I looked at the time: **6:12 pm**

I almost wished she hadn't learned how to text. It could be such nuisance during class or when I was busy. But we were having fried rice for dinner. It was all good.

All four of us gathered around the table. Kairi next to me and across the table Yuffie next to Mom.

"You had pizza not too long ago," Kairi said.

"Oh pipe it," I nudged her.

One good thing about living in a house of girls was that we always helped each other. Case and point, after we ate the dinner dishes were washed, dried and put up. The stove and floors were clean. And the leftovers were put into the fridge.

"I'll be in the studio for a bit, girls. Good night." Mom kissed all of us and made her way up to the third floor. She liked to paint in her spare time. That's another thing she thought I'd inherit from her.

"This is where we part Kai," I said. While me and Yuffie had our own apartment on the first floor, Kairi was stuck on the second floor with Mom. Not that it was a _bad_ thing per se. Only if you wanted to stay up 'til the crack of dawn. Or if you decided to sneak out or back in to the house.

"Night Little Red," Yuffie repeated Axel's nickname for her and patted her head. We headed downstairs.

0.0

Later that night I was lying in bed with the covers drawn up. I never went to sleep when I was supposed to. I just ended up playing around on my iPod.

"Do you think Aunt Tifa was being a bit harsh?" Yuffie asked from the bathroom. She was putting on some face scrub.

"Mmmm define harsh," I asked.

"Um…I don't know. Like this was a grueling tryout compared to the others we've been through."

"I know. I'm surprised that one girl didn't cry! Did you hear Jasmine practically yelling at her?" I added.

"She kept hitting the ball outside the bounds," she laughed.

"And then, when we were playing Queen of the Court, there was that poor girl who got hit in the face," I recounted.

"Ow," she cringed. "Her whole face and left eye were red. I felt that one." The water starting running in the sink.

"I guess to have a good team you have to push the players to find the gems. But I don't know what Aunt Tifa is doing."

"She's been the coach for ten years. I'd think she'd know what's best." She turned the bathroom light off. "I just felt sorry for those who were trying out."

"It's not for the weak," I said.

"Definitely not." She plopped onto her bed wearing a pair of pants with little chocobos on them.

"You spent last night at Rikku's."

"How'd you know?"

"Those are her pants. The last time I saw them she was sleeping over here."

"Remind me to give them back to her. She'll throw a fit otherwise," she chuckled.

"Ok." I yawned and turned over. My phone read 9:15. I made sure to set my alarm for 6:30 am and placed it on my nightstand. I guess tryouts really did wear me out.

Yuffie turned off the lamp light and said, "Bonne nuit, ma sœur."

"Bonne nuit." I closed my eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**AN: Well that was a process to write. Let me know how you feel about each character or if you find any mistakes, anything I might have left out or that you're confused about. I have a picture on my DeviantART showing the depiction of the teachers I had in mind.**

**Songs used: For Once in My Life - Stevie Wonder, Cold Shoulder - Adele**

_Sook_


	3. Try Me Out

**Here is chapter dos. I hope this is shorter than the first chapter. I'll try to reduce the size, to give your eyes a break, and to keep my writing flowing semi-smoothly.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, except the few I created, or songs used in this fic. Credit goes to Square Enix, Final Fantasy, and Disney. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Try Me Out**

_BGM: Rolling in the Deep, Many Shades of Black - Adele_

The tryout results were posted on the sport's bulletin board at school the next day.

"How did she make it?"

"She's horrible at playing!"

"And so are you, but you're on here."

"I can't believe that tart made varsity. I only made JV!"

I figured that I'd check it out later. Or just wait for someone to tell me who made the cut. Those girls were one insult away from pulling hair and I wouldn't be caught in a cat fight.

I continued my walk with Riku to the library. We had about twenty minutes before homeroom started.

"Please tell me why we're in here." I asked. He picked me up so early that I didn't even have time to make a cup of tea. I would be dragging this morning.

"I told you, I need to figure out a topic for my research paper," Riku supplied.

"Um isn't that three months away?"

"I want to get a head start on it."

"Overachiever." Might as well make good use of this time. I left him to browse the fiction section. I usually had some good finds from there.

I wandered around for a minute or so before I settled on H. _Haddon, Hand, Harris, Hawking, Hawthorne, Hemmingway, Hilton, Hinton, Howard, __Humphries. Jenny Humphries. Hmm. Like the chick from Gossip Girl. _I ran my hand across some books before one caught my eye. It had a lovely orange and pink sunset as the backdrop.

_Oooh Killing Ruby Rose._ I pulled the book from the shelf and read the summary on the inside cover. _Nice shoes, dad died, absent mom…pursuing killers._ Ok I'll take this one.

I looked back up to see a head of light blonde hair through the bookcase. Just then the figure looked up and we locked gazes. I was met with a striking blue. The kind that pierces through you and stops you dead in your tracks.

He smiled at me and I returned it with a wink. _He looks familiar._

"Did you find something other than horror?" Riku chose that moment to interrupt me. I turned to him wearing a 'really, you choose now?' face and shook my head. I turned back to the bookshelf but the lovely blonde was gone.

I sighed. I'm pretty sure I'm bound to see him around.

"It's not horror. It's a mystery book," I said to Riku.

"Oh, that's right you don't like horror and anything scary."

"Damn straight," I said. If there was one thing I absolutely did not do, it was horror. I watched Saw 3 one time and had nightmares for weeks. Although I had a weird obsession with reading and watching horror, I had to cut it out due to my lack of sleep, sanity, and oxygen to my brain.

"She has my fashion sense and brain, but more money."

"Oh what separates the classes," Riku said. He was holding two books on Shakespeare and one on English literature.

"Got what you needed?"

"Yeah, we can check these out?"

As we were checking out the books, Riku leaned on the counter a bit. Then he was making small talk, which he normally doesn't do. Then he flipped his hair slightly and smiled a half grin. Did she just laugh? WAIT A SECOND! He was flirting with Belle. _That's_ why we were in there.

I can't believe he's flirting with her. And he messed up my mojo with that hottie.

"Namine why do you have that look on your face?" Riku asked.

"What look?"

"Like someone stole from you."

"Or lied," I mumbled. "My turn," I pushed Riku away with my hip and placed my book on the counter. Belle is our assistant librarian and one of the English teachers. She's a sweet lady in her mid twenties. Today she was wearing her brown tresses in a top knot. She had blue button up shirt and white pencil skirt. She is a modest dresser but still has a nice style.

"Thank you." I smiled at Belle and I ushered Riku out of the library doors.

"I just need some books for my research paper," I said in a higher pitch and flipped my hair. "Paper my ass. You were getting your flirt on."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Whatever, you have a crush on Belle," I waved his denial away. "Did you take what I said into consideration?"

"About what?"

"You gonna talk to Rinoa today?"

He sighed. "I don't know."

"Why don't we look for her for starters," I gave him a pointed look. He wasn't going to chicken out on me. I spotted some of her friends and began to walk over.

"Hey," I greeted them. Irvine nodded his head in recognition while Ellone and Zell said 'hi.' I didn't need to make up a reason to be there. Quistis was on the newspaper with me.

"You have that story, Odayaka?" Quistis Trepe is a tall blonde with a regal manner and a knack for order. Her hair is usually worn in a high bun with some strands hanging loose in the front. For the most part she is _always_ dressed business casual. "Always dress to impress" is her motto. This was her senior year and she was determined to make this year's paper the best ever.

"Not yet. Something threw a wrench in it. I'm working on it."

"Good. I don't think I can deal with another spread of Selphie showing how to do the perfect smokey eye."

"I know this is a bit cliche but why don't we focus on back to school stuff? Like summer looks for school." I suggested.

Quistis was always ready when it came to that newspaper. She had her tablet out and was tapping away.

"Ways to stay cool _and_ classy. What else you got?" She lifted her eyes to me.

"Well I told Selphie maybe we could do a poll to see what others want to read about."

"That's brilliant," she said. "I don't know why _I_ didn't think about that." Way to give a two sided compliment.

"How was your summer?" I asked to be polite. I was originally here for Riku but I needed to ease my way into this. She answered something about interning at the paper her father worked at and lining up all of her scholarships.

I turned to address Riku and draw him into the conversation but he was nowhere to be found. _What the… He left me._ I groaned internally.

"Where's Rinoa? She's usually with you guys," I said nonchalantly.

"She was supposed to be here but she's a no show. Such a drag. I needed to pull some ideas from her." That was Quistis. All work and no play. It just so happens that she is also the editor of the yearbook. The teacher for that class was so lucky. Quistis was always at the top of her game. She was so organized and meticulous that it made everyone else's jobs easier. I wonder who would take her shining pedestal once she graduated in the spring.

"I'll see you at the meeting later," she said before walking off.

"Hey there. Just the person I was looking for!" All I saw was a flash of blonde before I was tackled to the floor.

"Ow," I managed to whimper out.

"Rikku you can't do that!" I heard Yuna reprimand her.

"Aw Yunnie she's fine," was her answer. I felt her pull me to my feet. I was a little disoriented and still hadn't had my morning tea. I lazily dusted off my red jeans. I really needed that caffeine.

"Can I help you, Rikku?" I asked with a slight slur.

"You need to get a story for the cheerleading team out," she said.

"Ok, what do you have?" I pulled a small notepad and pen from my bag.

"Well…I was hoping you could just, ya know, make something up."

"That's not exactly how it works," I sighed.

I saw Yuna shake her head behind her. "I told you to wait for Rinoa. She had a beautiful idea." Yuna turned to me. "She was talking about getting more funding for the cheer team and in turn the newspaper." I was starting to like the sound of that. It would make Quistis happy to know we were bringing in more revenue. "I think it was something like us doing shows. I don't really remember." She put a finger to her chin.

"Oh wait! I can give you her number and then you can work out the specifics," Rikku spoke up.

"That sounds great," I replied genuinely. I could get their story and get her to talk about Riku.

We pulled out our phones and she gave me Rinoa's number. I entered it in my phone and the bell for homeroom rang.

"See ya later," Rikku called as she dragged Yuna off.

I went to my locker and then walked into Mr. Cogsworth's class. I saw Riku sitting in his usual spot.

"Traitor," I said as I sat next to him.

He started to open his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "Don't even feign ignorance." I pointed a finger at his face. "Even without your presence," I continued, "I got somewhere." I pulled out my phone.

"How did you get her number?" he asked.

"Ah, you are not privy to that information."

"So what do you want me to do, text her?"

"No, but I'll think of something."

~0~0~0~

In human anatomy I ended up paying more attention to Hook's gorgeous face than the parts of the human body. My lack of caffeine was taking a toll. I could kind of tell he knew I wasn't really paying attention. My face was lying in the palm of my left hand and my gaze followed him around the room as he spoke.

"Namine what do you think the most important part of the body is?"

I blinked slowly. "The brain," I said automatically. _I have no idea why that came out._

"Care to elaborate?" he asked.

Without missing a beat I said, "Because it controls everything in the body." I straightened up in my seat. "Shivers, blushing, contractions during birth, adrenaline rushes when you're excited or nervous, pain and nerve senses acting at the drop of a dime. The brain sends signals to each part of the body to create fluids and hormones to produce certain symptoms in each person which also result in stimuli and response. It's quite fascinating." _I hope my bullshitting worked._

He simply looked at me and smiled, "I didn't really look at it that way before. Thank you for sharing Ms. Odayaka."

I'm so glad my mother bestowed all of her nursing knowledge on me. Turns out it was good for something.

A girl to my right raised her hand and blurted out, "The heart is my favorite body part! When you see someone you have a crush on your heart can actually skip a beat." She fluttered her eyelashes.

"Yes, why thank you for that."

I rolled my eyes. Y_ou're trying too hard. _Besides I had already captured his attention.

In dance we turned in our homework. Only I forgot the do mine. So when it was my turn to do a barrel roll, I was the only one standing on the side. Ms. Fa had us do this in small groups so no one would get hurt.

"Is something wrong Namine?" she asked.

I lied. "I'm kind of scared to do this. I don't like falling, and this seems like throwing myself to the floor."

"Here I'll show you," she said with a smile. I almost felt bad for lying to her.

So in front of the entire class, Ms. Fa demonstrated how to do a proper barrel roll. It was simple. It was like doing a tumble roll, but on your side. After your body spun once you quickly picked yourself off the floor. She made me practice this four times with her before she felt like I had finally had it.

"Good job. See it wasn't so hard." She patted my back. I could feel everyone's eyes on me and a blush rise to my cheeks.

After class we rode back to school in silence. Or well at least I did. The students filed out of the bus. Before I could follow suit Ms. Fa stopped me.

"Namine. I know you didn't practice," she said knowingly.

I blushed from embarrassment. I was caught in my lie.

"Next time, just do your homework. Or I'll just have to embarrass you in front of the class again." She laughed.

"I definitely don't want that!" I said as I shook my head.

"You have a lot of potential and I don't want to see you waste it." She offered a small smile and let me go.

I made my way to Master Eraqus' class and told Selphie about the potential story with the cheerleaders.

"Oooh can I please please **please** take their pictures?" She begged.

"Yes, you can," I relinquished the task to her. I really didn't have much of an interest in cheerleading. Girls in short skirts cheering for a team. Not my thing.

~0~0~0~

_BGM: Diamonds – Marie Digby_

I didn't have my lunch packed today so I would have to brave the lunch line. I spotted a head of red hair and cut in front of her.

"Hey," Kairi said. "No cuts, no butts, no coconuts."

I rolled my eyes. "Sometimes, kid, you're just too cute." She pouted at this. "Besides, I have seniority rights." I picked up an empty tray and observed the lunch line. I couldn't really see what was behind the foggy glass.

"I have your tea Mademoiselle." I turned to Jacques who was holding a steaming cup out for me.

"Oh thank you Jacques," I said with sincere gratitude. It was a huge cup that smelled like flowers.

"Oh, avez-vous quelque chose de sucré?" I asked. (Do you have something sweet?)

"Doux come vows? Pas cher. Mais j'ai quelque chose que vous allez aimer," he replied. I smiled. (As sweet as you? No my dear. But I have something you will like.)

Chicken and gnocchi soup, buttermilk ravioli, and a chocolate cake with mousse icing. _Oh, yes._ I always trusted Jacques when it came to food. I thanked him and paid for my food.

I wouldn't be sitting with my friends today; I would be forsaking them for a younger class. We even had a table reserved for us. There was a white card sitting in the middle of a table adorning my name in cursive gold letters. _Well that was fancy. I wonder if the other groups have the same same elegant decoration. _I would be having lunch every Tuesday with the Freshmen for the rest of the month.

Kairi sat down next to me. Ventus and Shiki were already at the table. I took this chance to give them my undivided attention. "So have you formed any opinions of your classes yet?"

"Ms. Bengis is…" Ventus started.

"Unbearable," Shiki finished.

"She gave a lot of homework?" I blew on my tea and took a sip. _Ah fresh peony._

"Read an entire chapter and do all of the questions at the end," Ventus said.

"Yeah, she's really hard pressed. I have no idea why." I shrugged a little indifferent to their plight. I saw the exasperated looks on their faces. "Maybe I can look through my old notes to see if I have anything from her class."

"You've no idea how much you would be helping us," Ventus thanked me.

"Don't thank me just yet. You still need to survive this semester," I winked.

They continued to tell me of their first days. American History with Kassab was gloomy; well about as tragic as you can get with pilgrims and Indians. Art was apparently fantastic, Shiki really likes the teacher. Ventus had a chance to make something with Jacques right before lunch started. Shiki had dance with Ms. Fa.

"I didn't know you were into dancing," I said.

"A little. I kind of want to be a contemporary dancer. I'm taking her class for beginners," she replied.

"Mulan will definitely help you with that. Just don't forget to practice," I said recalling my flop earlier today.

The rest of my Freshmen group (Isa Iwo, Nashmeira Alzadaal, Simba Mensah, Harlan Mahoe, Leila Trepe, Midras Tacand, and Louis Segall) arrived shortly after and I proceeded to ask them if they were having any trouble with teachers or homework as well. Isa, Riku's brother, was having a bit of trouble with Master Eraqus. "He's ridiculous about time. I can't stand how perfect he wants our form to be when we shoot a ball. It's just a sport." I chuckled; Riku was the same way when he first met the teacher. I recall him naming Master Eraqus, The Sergeant. He would grow out of it just like his older brother.

Listening to them recount their first, and almost second, day made me think of how I had perceived those teachers and how I had felt as a Freshman. I had gone to school with most of the kids in my class from kindergarten so I wasn't exactly fending for myself. I also had Riku there to compare notes with.

I watched each face light up with enthusiasm for their favorite parts of classes, darken with describing horrid teachers, stopping for jokes in between, and deadpan at ridiculous things other students said and done. It was like watching a mini play with the dramatic energy dripping off of them. A few of the students like Nashmeira and Leila were quiet at first, but I was able to draw them out some.

They say that the first draft is the rough one, and that's exactly what your Freshman year is like. Making the little mistakes and learning from them. I just hope that I can impart some good advice to these baby chicks.

~0~0~0~

Turning in my short homework assignment put a smile on Mr. Lavindra's face. "And this is why I like having you in my class."

"Likewise."

I remembered a good deal from last year's Trigonometry class, so I spent the free time in class helping Riku graph functions.

I didn't have volleyball practice today, but I did have newspaper duties. I parted with Riku at the classroom door. Our math class was on the second floor and I needed to get to the first. I left my locker with my belongings to begin my trek to the newspaper room.

"Hey, Namine," a lax voice said.

"Oh, hey Pence," I smiled.

"I won't bore you with asking about your summer."

"I don't know about that. I never get tired of telling how I spent my summer eating delicious pizza." We laughed and continued our walk to the elevators.

Today Pence was wearing a Lakers jersey with jean shorts. I just loved the bright yellow Nike's he had on. _He still has great style.__  
_

I had known Pence for some time. He was a cute teddy bear. And his passion for photography drew me quickly.

"_There's just no other way to capture the essence of life. And years from now, even after some of these places will be demolished, we can look back at the photos as mementos. But even after the pictures fade we'll still have them in our memory." _

_Hook, line and sinker. I was done for. His mesmerizing hazel eyes revealed a hint of green when he was excited. And I learned quickly how to cause this effect. Although many people thought he was a chunky kid, he was actually all muscle. Underneath his jerseys and over sized tees, he was built like a brick._

_We were together for the summer of our Freshmen year and dated well into the fall semester. A__fter five months I grew bored with him but was struggling to let him go. It was hard for him to accept that I just wasn't the settling, long term relationship type of girl. It broke his heart to tiny bits but over time he healed. I can always count on him to give me the latest scoop on what is going on at our ever prestigious school._

"I have some pictures for you~" I sang.

"Great! I haven't been able to get anything too good."

"School just started so you're not gonna get much right now."

"Yeah, I've just been taking random pictures at the café, in the gym, outside on the lawn. It'll make for good transitions in the newspaper and yearbook."

"I hope I'm not in there."

"Maybe, maybe not," he said. "I can't guarantee anything."

We reached the newspaper room where I was met with a distraught Quistis.

"Have you seen Rinoa?"

"No," I replied. "Have you tried calling her?"

"No why didn't I think of that? How smart and simple. Yes of course I did that," she snapped.

_Pshh no need to get smart._ "Well what is it that you need from her?" My patience was generally very thin.

"She said she had a story or two for me. The quicker we get the ideas the quicker we can form stories that will be ready to put in each issue so we can place other things around it. Then we can arrange every article so they complement each other. It's very important to be ahead of schedule."

"Yes, I see," I said dryly.

"Well why don't you try calling her again from outside? Maybe the reception will be better out in the parking lot," Pence offered.

"Ok," Quistis left the room.

"Is that all it took to get her gone?" someone said.

"We've had to deal with that since fourth period. She's in yearbook too."

"She keeps things in order," said Rosa, a soft spoken blonde.

"Yeah but she's crazy," Terra said.

I walked over to one of the computers. "I'm gonna upload the pictures to the hard drive, kay?"

"Sure. I need to start working on placing mine," Pence replied.

"I also got some pictures of the Freshmen. Most of them are during lunch." I conspicuously took pictures of my Freshmen group. They were laughing and happy; just what we needed.

"It's times like this when I'm glad we only have like thirty minutes in here," Selphie said. "She can be more high strung than _me_ sometimes." We all laughed at that.

I decided to text Rinoa while I had a free moment.

**Me: hey this is Namine. Got your number from Rikku :3 I wanted to talk about the stories you had for the newspaper. Whenever you get a chance just let me know.**

Not even a minute later I got a reply.

**Rinoa: Oh that's right. Why don't we do that after school? Maybe we can go to my house.**

This was going to be easier than I thought. And I wasn't talking about the stories.

**Me: ok how about you meet me at the front of the school at about 3:40?**

**Rinoa: Sounds great. See you then!**

Quistis came back into the room.

"Did you get a response?" I asked.

"No."

The rest of the meeting was spent uploading pictures, talking about some potential ideas, and changing the format as well as materials for the newspaper.

"It'll be more like a magazine. The good thing is that the ink won't run and we'll have vivid pictures," Selphie said.

"And are there drawbacks?" Quistis asked.

"Well," Selphie started. "It'll be a little more costly. But the paper has a beautiful gloss finish."

Quistis got ready to stop her. "But I did find a cheaper brand at the dollar store. Same finish and almost the same quality."

"I like that," Quistis said. You would think for a high school paper being published bimonthly, the cost wouldn't be a problem. Quistis was also studying business and the paper was her chance to manage a small one. How lucky we were.

"Namine what's going on with the library's art program?" Quistis directed at me.

"Well the bad news is-"

"I already don't like the sound of this. We need something positive."

"Well the funding has been cut. Or well there is no funding."

"That's a drat," she typed something on her tablet.

"And they also might be cutting the school's creative arts programs as well," I said in one breath.

At this her head snapped to mine as she exclaimed, "What?! That is simply preposterous!"

"The good news," I interjected, "is that we already started a plan to have a sort of fund raiser." Quistis was on the martial arts team and I could see her karate chopping someone's head off in her rage. She wasn't nice when things didn't go her way and I did not want that energy directed at me.

"Go ahead," she encouraged.

"We could do things like car washes, bake sales, you know the usual?"

"Those will generate only but so much. We need something significant to offset the deficit."

"We could get some wealthy people to donate," I offered.

"Yes. I'll talk to some people at my father's paper. But we need to give these investors a reason to be interested in us."

"They'll be doing it for the greater good," Pence said. He could be so altruistic and optimistic.

"A _real_ reason, Pence. People are not going to give us money out of the goodness of their hearts."

"If they have kids going to this school or if they want their kids to go here, they'll definitely be interested," Selphie added.

"We can pitch to art galleries, patrons of the library, bookstores and the like," Terra added.

"Great people," Quistis said.

"I want Namine to get the story that Rinoa promised, and get more information on the library, get a nice but short summary of their history etcetera, and get some pictures from their regular features as well as crafts projects. Pence I want you to go with Namine and get those shots by the end of the week. Selphie, **please** do something other than makeup. We talked about clothes fitting the summer and school attire. Work with that. Terra, borrow one of the cameras and I want at least ten shots of each sport and a story by Friday. Brother, assist Terra with that and divvy up the work. Rosa, get feedback from twenty students in each grade. We need to know what they want to read, how often, and what they're tired of. I want a well rounded report. Also get some pictures during the cooking and home economics classes."

She stood up and straightened her blazer. "Ok people get to work."

~0~0~0~

_BGM: Fast in My Car – Paramore_

I left the newspaper room with relief. Kairi and Yuffie were waiting for me outside.

"Were you two waiting for me this whole time?" I asked.

"No we were just roaming the halls," Yuffie said.

"Ok. Well I have a story to write."

"Ok?"

"Sorry but you're gonna have to find a ride home."

"What?" Yuffie and Kairi said at the same time.

"You can either take the bus or walk," I offered.

"Ugh that's not realistic Namine," Yuffie said. She didn't really like taking the bus.

"Well Riku has practice today. You could just wait for him. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"So it's just the two musketeers today," Yuffie wrapped her arm around Kairi.

"Sorry you're solo today," Kairi spoke up.

"What, why?"

"Oh I have plans with some friends," Kairi said.

"Since when?"

"You're not the only one with friends."

I laughed. "You might wanna go to the gym now and catch Riku before he leaves."

"You guys suck," Yuffie said before she ran off to the gym.

0.0

Rinoa picked me up in front of the school and we drove to her house. Making regular conversation on how crazy Quistis could be I asked why Rinoa ditched her second day.

"I'm just having an off day," she explained.

"I know what you mean."

"Dealing with Quistis wasn't on my to-do list. I was originally dropping by to get my homework, but since you texted me I decided to kill two birds with one stone."

"She was freaking out this afternoon."

Rinoa sighed. "She knows it takes time for a story to be written. And even longer to put together an idea for something. I don't know why she has to have it as soon as the thought leaves your mouth."

"Going with the flow is definitely not Quistis' style."

She pulled into her three door garage. We walked up a short set of stairs that led to her kitchen. As we made our way through the kitchen she picked up two bottles of ice tea and offered me one. I took it while she turned to go into her pantry. It was truly a lovely sight. There were cookies, popcorn, doughnuts, ramen, Sriracha; all the important things. She took a box of shortbread cookies with strawberry jam in the center.

Up to her room we went with our food in tow.

"Ok so we were hoping to raise money for the cheer squad. I would really like to change the designs on the uniforms. They're in need of an upgrade. And dry cleaning is downing our funds." She was sitting in a rolling chair by a desk.

"Ok, go on," I prodded. I had settled comfortably on the floor with the box of cookies close by.

"I was thinking of doing two or three free shows, a teaser if you will. Then have more shows and charge for the tickets, which is where our funding will come from."

I began taking a few notes on my notepad.

"I like the idea of Disney themed dances."

"Sounds good. Have an idea of when you'd start this?"

"I can have the dances down packed and the costumes done in three weeks."

I ate a cookie. Wow she had her stuff in order.

"So maybe we can start with a profile on you, lead into your extracurricular activities and then get into cheerleading and the pitch for profit." Simple and sweet. I put another cookie in my mouth. _It's so sweet and gooey._

"Thish play idea ish goo too." I swallowed before putting another in. "Maybe we should do that for the art programs…" I said under my breath. I started to chew on my third cookie.

"What's going on with art?" Rinoa caught my comment.

"Oh, they're cutting the funding at the library and in turn the creative arts at Yonkers High."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish."

"Well…we have to do _something_ about it. What if we use the same method?"

"We couldn't take the money from your team and offset your goal Rinoa."

"No, I mean it could be a joint effort. This changes things. We can include the entire arts program!"

"So martial arts, dance, band, drama-"

"Cooking, home economics, cheer. We have all of them at our disposal."

"How is the money going to be split?" I asked. I was intrigued at this prospect but we needed to be realistic.

"Once the funds for our new uniforms are met, the rest of the profits can go to the arts."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Yes. I can talk to Minnie tomorrow and we can go from there."

Well this was easier than I thought. Actually this was the only easy part. Getting everyone on the same page for one cause would take a little more effort. At least we had the base for our cause set in stone.

I finished writing my notes and said, "Well I wish you the best of luck in making it to nationals. I know how much that must mean to you."

"Thank you Namine. And I know you're not just saying that because your sister is on the squad."

At this I raised an eyebrow. "Huh…"

She didn't notice my fault. "Yeah Kairi just has a great energy and that's exactly what we were looking for. I can't tell you how many auditions we sat through before we got to her. She just lit up the room. She has rhythm and grace and can already do splits! It took me a whole year to learn how to do that properly."

"Well I can assure you that I give my full support to your team. Sans nepotism of course." We laughed.

I'd have to speak with Kairi when I got home.

* * *

**AN: Well that was a bit difficult to write the first time through. Feedback would be _great._ This was fun to write though. If you feel that anything I've written is misrepresented please let me know.**

**I will be using a variety of characters for teachers, students, and others from the games mentioned in the disclaimer. Cookies to anyone who can guess who's who.**

**Any weird characteristic that I may give Namine is probably one of mine. The eating, the tea, reading, not touching horror with a ten foot pole. It's always easier to draw your writing from real life experiences and that's exactly what I did. However some things are purely pulled out the air.**

**Hope you liked it!**

_Sook_


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